The traditional minimum cost feed ration linear programming model is expanded to permit risk management responses to price variability associated with feeding a particular ration across time. The cost minimizing objective function also considers feed costs in a mean-variance (E-V) framework. The model is specified using NRC nutrient requirements and an historic Feedstuffs price series. A decision-maker can choose his/her optimal ration by making tradeoffs between price risk and net income. The results should provide a basis for decision tools that allow livestock producers to manage the net income risk involved in the selection of a feed ration.

In early 1999, Brazil devalued its currency, increasing its competitiveness in the poultry industry and capturing world market share. This paper discusses the devaluation and its effects on Brazil's trade, evaluates preliminary statistics on the impact of the devaluation on world poultry markets, and reports the results from a computable general equilibrium (CGE) simulation of the devaluation. The medium-run CGE results are compared to the short-run impacts reflected in the preliminary statistics.

There are many in political and higher education circles who have come to believe that land-grant universities have lost their relevance. It is said too frequently that the land-grant tradition no longer fits 21st century realities. The purpose of this paper is to argue energetically that land-grant universities, the land grant model, and the land-grant tradition have never been more relevant nor more important.